Samsung kicks off US$3.2 bil. project in Thai Nguyen

Samsung Thai Nguyen Hi-Tech Complex is developed on an area of 100 hectares in Yen Binh Industrial Park. The first plant in this complex is scheduled to start operation late this year and create jobs for 2,000 workers.

The plant specializes in production of mobile devices such as cell phones, smartphones and tablets with an annual capacity of over 100 million units, similar to the capacity of the Bac Ninh factory. It will also produce 1.5 million cameras a year.

JK Shin, head of IT & Mobile Communications at Samsung, said the new project in Thai Nguyen demonstrated Samsung’s commitment to long-term investment in Vietnam.

Nguyen Van Dao, deputy general director of Samsung Vina, said Samsung leaders came up with the idea of building a hi-tech complex in Thai Nguyen shortly after the visit of Samsung’s president to Vietnam late last year.

Samsung has achieved enormous growth in its smartphone sales in recent two years. If the growth rate of global demand remained unchanged in the next two years, Samsung’s factory in Bac Ninh and the others in Brazil, India and China could not fully meet the market demand.

Therefore, the South Korean company develops the project in Thai Nguyen to keep pace with the rapid sales growth, said Dao.

Samsung Thai Nguyen Hi-Tech Complex marks an important milestone of Samsung’s success in Vietnam. The projects in Bac Ninh and Thai Nguyen are the typical foreign-invested projects in Vietnam, making Vietnam one of the strategic links in the global supply chain of Samsung.

The registered capital for the project in Thai Nguyen is US$2 billion. However, speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony on Monday, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung informed the total cost of the project is US$3.2 billion.

The cell phone plant will cost US$2 billion, while US$1.2 billion will be spent on a factory specializing in production and assembly of microprocessors and integrated circuits.

The Prime Minister appreciated Samsung’s view of Vietnam as its largest production base in the world and its investment expansion in Vietnam. He said this move had great strategic significance, contributing to the development of the strategic partnership between Vietnam and South Korea.

The factory of Samsung in Yen Phong Industrial Park in Bac Ninh has been operating efficiently and is seen as one of the top mobile device production facilities in Vietnam.

The Bac Ninh factory worth US$670 million officially started operation in April 2009. In 2012, Samsung increased its investment in this factory to US$1.5 billion and decided to transform it into a technology complex.

This factory last year churned out some 100 million products, over 95% of which was exported to the EU, the Middle East, Russia and some Asian nations, bringing in some US$12.7 billion, or 11% of Vietnam’s total export turnover.

In addition to direct contributions to socioeconomic development in Vietnam, the projects of Samsung lure foreign investors into supporting industries in Vietnam. The factory in Bac Ninh has attracted 80 component manufacturers and suppliers and created jobs for over 16,000 workers, in addition to its own workforce of more than 30,000.

Similarly, the hi-tech complex in Thai Nguyen, when starting operation late this year, will continue to attract satellite companies and offer jobs for over 10,000 workers.